


Perspective, Part One

by A_Galeb_Duhr_named_Squish



Series: November [1]
Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-28
Updated: 2019-04-28
Packaged: 2020-02-08 18:07:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18628501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Galeb_Duhr_named_Squish/pseuds/A_Galeb_Duhr_named_Squish
Summary: Sae had to find out eventually. This just... wasn't how Ren wanted it to go.





	Perspective, Part One

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! You've found your way to my first fic! Congrats, and brace yourself. While it's not the first piece I've ever written (I have a novel in the works), it *is* the first piece of fanfiction, since I've never really been committed to the idea of working with established characters. I think I'm ready to, and so, here we are! This one in particular is a relatively short work, since I'm still getting a feel for it all before I jump into larger, longer pieces.  
> This is part one of four of the 'November' series. I shouldn't have to explain to seasoned fans of Persona 5 what that may mean.  
> That reminds me, if you're currently playing through Persona 5, this fic contains story and character spoilers for the months of June onward, okay? Everything after Madarame's palace.  
> With all of that said and done, I hope you enjoy the read!

Prosecutor Sae Niijima was currently in the middle of doing something very unworthy of her profession. In any other situation, it would have been the end of her job if she was caught. This one, however, might have had higher stakes. At least, that’s what the half-conscious, bruise-ridden teenager under her arm had implied. Getting Ren Amamiya out of the police station was easy, what with the disarray. It was chaos. How could someone have shot themselves in a confined, solitary, underground interrogation room? Of course, Sae knew the truth. With a little help and guidance from ‘The Phantom Thief Alibaba’, she essentially rescued the boy from certain death at the hands of someone she would never have suspected capable of such a deed.

Her train of thought broke as Ren’s head began to bob. The truth serum had worn off, and the people interrogating him prior to Niijima herself had been very liberal with the use of the stuff. Unfortunately, when the effects wear off, so does the consciousness of the victim. Sae couldn’t have the boy collapse in the short walk to her vehicle, not in the middle of the street.

“Come on, stay awake.” She said, shaking the young man’s shoulder to keep him focused. “A little further, now.”

“Mhm.” Was all Ren could muster.

Finally, the two reached the passenger side of the prosecutor’s car. Sae opened the door, and ushered an exhausted Amamiya into the seat. “Seat belt, please.”

Ren complied, clearly not in the mood to risk his life any further. The poor kid had been tear gassed, beaten, drugged, and nearly became victim of murder via firearm. After the rather great favour of smuggling him from that cell, it was easy to say that Ren trusted the older woman enough to follow her directions.  
Niijima stopped at the rear of the vehicle while on her way to the wheel.

_I feel like I’m forgetting something._

The boy was still dressed in a Shujin Academy uniform. Something like that would draw attention, not even to mention the bruises and cuts on his face. Luckily, Niijima was a busy woman, and didn’t often have time to clean out her car. She brought herself to the door leading to the backseat, opened it, and began rifling through sheaves of paper, manila folders, and a few binder books to find what she was looking for. Being what it was, it was easy enough to locate. From the mess of paper, she produced a small hooded sweater, her younger sister’s. She never wore it these days, so it stayed in the car from when it was last used, a few winters past. It looked like it would fit the young man. She just hoped Makoto wouldn’t mind.

Passing it from the back seat, she dropped it onto Ren’s lap. “Put this on. We need to hide your face. And swap that blazer for it, it’s a dead giveaway.”

Ren obliged, swifter than his current state could betray. As he stuck his head through the neck of the sweater, and pulled the hood up, he paused a moment. Sae could have sworn she saw a smile, but given the very obvious physical distress Ren was in, it could have been a grimace.

After sitting down in the driver’s seat, she threw a few cursory glances to her mirrors, and Ren, to make sure he had put his seat belt on.  
It was time to make the getaway. Only, there was no way she could harbor the boy at her apartment. That was much too risky. The same risk was involved in her staying away from her place of work for too long.

_Where was he staying? LeBlanc, that’s right. Yongen._

Yongen wasn’t terribly far from the court district, and the police wouldn’t bother checking there. The only people who knew Ren lived there were herself, presumably the rest of the Phantom Thieves, and Goro Akechi. Though, if the Thieves’ plan had worked, Akechi would be under the assumption that Ren was already dead. Additionally, If LeBlanc somehow turned out to be unsafe, the owner, Sojiro Sakura, would surely have a residence he could hide within. She started the engine, and pulled out into the busy streets, Yongen bound. A few minutes into the drive, Amamiya began to mumble incoherently. A few words formed without issue, however, audible to the prosecutor.

“Th-thank… you.”

“You’re welcome. In return for this, when you’ve recovered, you can tell me all about what the fresh hell is going on.” She turned to face the struggling boy. “Sound fair?”

“F-fair?” Ren smiled, chuckling under his breath. “Of course. It’s…the fairest th-thing you’ve ever asked of us.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

Ren groaned, hand shooting to his chest. “Ow. I’ll tell you… later.”

Sae’s brow furrowed in worry. “Are you in pain?”

A nod from the boy. “A little.”

“I might have some painkillers in the glovebox.”

He hummed, then reached forward, and opened the compartment. Seconds later, he produced a thin box of medicine. It was paracetamol, so it wouldn’t ease the pain a terrific amount, but it would have to do. Sae mainly kept it around to deal with the unrelenting headaches her work caused her. The young man popped two from the seal, and downed them eagerly.

“I might fall… asleep.” He moaned.

“I’d prefer if you didn’t. I’m not carrying you from the car.”

He chuckled once. “Where are we headed?”

“LeBlanc.”

Ren simply nodded. One head bob, two, then his head stayed down. He was asleep. Sae sighed.  
_I suppose I’ll have to shake him awake once we get there._

Still, he was awfully content with his current situation. Nobody else would be able to muster a laugh in that condition. Then again, given his last few months, he might be used to it. Maybe it was the thought of what was waiting for him in about twenty minutes. A warm bed, water, some of that LeBlanc curry? Gods, Sae was tired too. What a stressful situation to be forced into. But, even after carrying the boy back to safety, her day wasn’t done. She still had to go back to work, try to maintain a veneer of un-involvement. She checked her watch. She could try to use the timeless alibi of ‘lunchtime’? It would also cover why she’s headed to Yongen. LeBlanc was a place she would frequent, it was believable.

_Good enou-_

Again, motion of thought came to a halt as Ren’s voice slowly dragged itself from his limp mouth. “I n-need…”

The older woman waited for an end to the sentence, but it never came. “Need what? Food? Water? I’m sure there’ll be some waiting for you. Just hold tight.”

The barely-conscious boy shook his head lazily. “…m-my queen.”

_Oh. He’s delirious. Or…_

Queen. Huh, where had she heard that word recently? It sparked a strange sensation she was all too familiar with, similar to when there was a loose tie in a case, a cold trail left by evidence that didn't meet any ends. That’s right, he’d mentioned it was a codename for one of the Phantom Thieves. Although Niijima had a comprehensive list of all the suspects, Ren had never admitted to those names being involved, only using their codenames, bar for the time he let slip Futaba and Makoto’s names.

_That… might actually be useful. I could make some deductions._

Skull would obviously be Sakamoto. Nobody else on that list would have such a vulgar and grim name. Panther could belong to… well… Sae had no idea. It seemed far removed from anyone on the list, at least that she knew of. Fox would perfectly fit Kitagawa, the simplicity of it. Ren had also said that the one named fox wore a kitsune mask, and Sae pieced together that he had appeared around the same time Madarame had confessed. Kitagawa was the only one currently related to that case.

_That’s two, at least._

The next codename the boy gave was Queen. It would make sense that Okumura would adopt that one, being a notable heiress to a rich family line. Still, it didn’t seem to fit her personality. Apparently, the young heiress was kind and lax; Certainly not queenly. Oracle was definitely linked to Futaba, that had come out of Ren’s own mouth. A shining moment from the truth serum in his veins at the time. The last name was Noir. French for ‘black’, if Sae wasn’t mistaken. The remaining three that remained un-matched were Okumura, Takamaki, and Sae’s own sister. That is, if the boy's recollection was reliable. Still, why would Amamiya bring her up if she wasn’t involved somehow?

If the codenames went by appearance, then the name itself wasn’t very indicative of who it could be. Not from ‘real world’ aesthetic, anyway.

“You look like you’re doing some thinking.”

Niijima snapped from her trance-like state, flicking a brief look over towards the young man in the passenger seat, who was studying her face as though she were the subject of some test.

“Yes.”

“May I pry?”

_No._ Sae thought. Instead, she spoke. “The codenames you gave me. You mentioned one while you were drifting off. ‘Your’ queen.” She looked back over to the boy, whose eyes were now wider than before. A hint of red on each cheek.

_So, I was right._

“Ah. It seems like someone in the Phantom Thieves was more than just a comrade.”

“W-we were… going to tell you eventually.”

What? Why would they? It had nothing to do with the case. Why on earth would Sae care about who the delinquent was falling for?

“I don’t think I would have needed to know.” She said. Then… it clicked.

_Wait, he said the panther mask came around the same time as Takamaki. Okumura was the last to join, and the last codename he gave me was Noir. Then Queen must-_

“Oh. Never mind, then.” Ren shuffled his body away a centimeter, turning to look out the window.

“…Amamiya. You’re kidding.”

Through the boy’s reflection in the window, she saw more of a blush, wider eyes. “You said it didn’t matter, so I don’t need to tell you, right?”

“Cut it out, Amamiya. I figured it out.”

Prosecutor Sae Niijima heard the tiniest sound from this boy. The grand leader of the rumored, mythological Phantom Thieves. The founder of a band of extremely organized criminals. This boy let out one, tiny, whimpering, ‘shit’.

_No. Way._

Sae considered slapping him. Yelling his ear off. Stopping the car, and kicking him out. Her vision came back from its red filter, and she saw her knuckles were white, gripping the steering wheel.

“I’m… sorry.”

“Don’t… speak, right now. It’s dangerous.”

“Right.” Ren brought his hands into the pockets of his… girlfriend’s… sweater.

Sae Niijima had learned two things. The first being that her younger sister, honour student, and student council president at Shujin, was indeed a Phantom Thief. The second being, that for gods know how long, the very same girl had been dating the leader of the same group. Right under her nose.

_All those times Makoto came home late… Was she with him?_

When she realised she didn’t have an answer, she posed the question to Ren.

“Most of those times, yes.” He whispered.

“And?”

Amamiya’s eyes widened in clear mixture of fear and confusion. “A-and?”

“You know what I’m asking.”

“N-no! I mean, we never… I didn’t… Um.”

Sae gripped the wheel tighter, and felt her foot press a little harder on the accelerate pedal. “You’re… a very poor liar, Amamiya.”

“I-if you hurt me, you’ll have to tell her that. Right?”

Niijima sighed. “Right.” Easing up on both the wheel and pedal, she groaned. He was right. If anything happened to him now, there was no telling what Makoto would do. Sae had never known her to be in love before, but she knew what it could do to a person, especially someone as young as her sister. “This is blackmail, you know.”

“Just ensuring my safety...”

“We have ten minutes left on this drive. More than enough time for you to convince me of two things. First, that your intentions with her aren’t harmful, and second, that you have her best interests at heart. Are you coherent enough to do that right now?” Her voice might as well have been the same stone her face was made from currently.

Ren sighed very deeply. “I hope so.”

“Go ahead then.”

“Just like that, huh? Alright.” He took a deep breath. “So, I first saw her in the school library, studying. I’m sure she’d been there before I noticed her, but there was something about that day that just… drew my vision.

“I asked if I could sit at the table. I had some reading to do. She said yes, dismissively. Didn’t even look up at me, she must have been hard at work. A few minutes in, though, I caught her shooting glances at me when she thought I wouldn’t notice. At first, I thought it was nothing more than her realising I was the rumoured ‘delinquent’. I’d gotten used to the stares. After a while, I saw that she wasn’t fearful of me. It was something else.

“The next few school days, I kept coming by. I don’t know if I really wanted to read those books, or if I just wanted to be looked at by her again. This went on for a while. A few weeks, at least. A week or two before the Kaneshiro case came up, she found Ryuji, Ann, and I on the rooftop. There was a small confrontation, nothing too serious. It was the first time I’d actually heard her voice speaking sentences, instead of ‘sure’ or ‘of course’.

“Then, in the following time, I spotted her spying on me. Through the school at first, hidden behind a book. I still don’t think she knows it was upside down to this day. Soon, she grew bolder, began following me around Shibuya. The day came when I was told to see her in the Council Room. She knew it was us. I don’t know how she did it, but she managed to nab a recording of us talking about Thieves’ business. She told me to lead her to them. I was regretful about being caught but… I was also very impressed. The whole thing shook me.

“So, I did. I led her to our current hideout, where the rest of the team was. Then she told us to change the heart of a mafia boss. Didn’t give us a full name, just the surname. Kaneshiro. She said she wanted to ‘verify our justice’. Which, you know, was kind of her, not turning us in immediately. We didn’t have a choice but to accept. I was in two minds about it all, though. At that point, I was sure I was in love with her. Just… the way she spoke, moved, thought. The way she had us wrapped around her finger. Which is why it kind of hurt to be threatened by her.

“After a whole ordeal, we find Kaneshiro’s full name, leading to his Palace. I told you that we needed her to be in the Metaverse to actually reach the place? That’s when she awakened to her Persona. There’s a thousand things I could say about how that made me feel, but my life is still in your hands, and it might not be a good idea.”

“I appreciate the honesty. Continue.” Sae grumbled.

“Right. She became the newest member of the Phantom Thieves. It was needed, too. She’s smart. Smarter than all of the rest of us. She became our advisor. That didn’t mean she didn’t carry her weight in combat, however. She adopted the codename ‘Queen’. Huh. I was the one who said it, but I didn’t intend her to take it, or hear it. I was zoning out, just looking into her eyes, and someone had said ‘she reminds me of an empress’ or something to that effect. I just blurted ‘or a queen’ under my breath. She heard it, and said she liked it, so it stuck.

“I don’t know where she started having feelings for me. It might have been when I was helping her with some issues she said she was having. She told me she had trouble relating to students who came to her for help, and she wanted to broaden her views, try things that others would do. So, we went to the arcade.” Ren took a moment to giggle.

Sae’s grip had loosened considerably on the wheel. She even found herself smiling a little. She put an end to that quickly, clearing her throat.

“Cutting a long story short, we both had fun, and she was eager for more. We kept spending time together after school, sometimes on Sundays. Soon, she came to me with a problem involving a student named Eiko.”

“Yes, I remember her telling me about this. She did mention that she enlisted the help of a friend. That was you?”

“Yes, that’s right. Then I guess you know that she had me pose as her boyfriend?”

“…No. I didn’t know that.” Sae’s eyes widened a little. “But… that does sound like something she would think up. If the host saw you together, he’d be a little more relenting in any pursuits, and it would have allowed Eiko Takao to feel slightly more at ease around Makoto. Rather clever, all in all. Keep going.”

“Mhm. When the time came to confront Tsukasa, I was there behind her. He threatened her, and I threatened back. It was… exhilarating. It was like I left my body for a moment, and it just went off on its own. He eased off, and walked away. Eiko ran. She needed some time to gather her thoughts, I think. There was a bar open to minors nearby that a friend of mine ran, so we went there to cool off and gather our own.

“That’s when… Gods, I don’t even know how the words came to me. She said that she still didn’t really know anything about love, despite wanting to help Eiko out of that situation. I’ll never forget the cheesy garbage that came out of my mouth. ‘I’ll be your study partner’.”

That was a little too much for the prosecutor to handle. She burst out laughing. Ren jumped, probably expecting a wall of knuckles was about to fly in his direction, but it never did. Instead, just laughter.

“That… that is quite cheesy.” She said, wiping the tears from her eyes once the laughter subsided. “You’re telling me she fell for that?”

“Well, I think we already loved each other. The way we ‘pretended’ to hold hands felt pretty real. I think we just needed to say it to see what was happening. You can ask her when you get home, I guess.”

Niijima hummed. That’s right, she should talk with her sister about all this later. "So. I think I’ve come to my conclusion.” She announced.

“Yes?”

“The way you smiled when you put that sweater on. It’s true love, isn’t it?”

Ren blushed violently. He nodded. “I-it… smells like her. I couldn’t hide it.”

“I’ll talk to Makoto tonight, and ask for her view of it all.” She chuckled quietly. “That’s the second time today you’ve convinced me of something I thought impossible. You have a knack for it.”

Looking over to the young man, she saw his head hanging low. It seemed he had succumbed to sleep again. That was fine, for now. Yongen was just around the corner, and she could just shake him back awake before passing him into Sojiro’s care.

“His queen.” She smiled, humming shortly. “Perhaps those two words were all I needed to hear.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked this!  
> I *am* accepting constructive criticism, since I want to keep improving my writing; I understand I'm not a prodigy when it comes to it.  
> Also, since I'm *very* new to this site, I'd greatly appreciate if some more seasoned folk could drop some suggestions for tags to use here, because I'm at an utter loss for ideas. Additionally, if you spot any formatting errors that I missed, PLEASE let me know. I'm still grappling with html stuff.  
> Like I said above, this is the first in a four-part series, but in the meantime before I post the second part, there will most likely be the beginning of a chaptered work I've been toying with. Stick around if you like!
> 
> Updates:  
> \- Edited the 'gunshot wound to the head' line according to Rokiro's advice.  
> \- Edited one of Ren's lines, removing a repeated word according to shifty_cat's advice.


End file.
